


Two's Company

by HannahkinSkywalker



Series: If you're trapped in your head you might miss me [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Flashbacks, M/M, Night Terrors, Nightmares, PTSD, Pre-Slash, Slight Stony, Slight fluff, sleep issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-28
Updated: 2013-06-28
Packaged: 2017-12-16 10:40:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/861116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HannahkinSkywalker/pseuds/HannahkinSkywalker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey! One-Shot for a little bit of Stony, no actual slash, could be OTP or BroTP, make your interpretation. So I've been wanting to do some PTSD stuff for Steve for a while now, and because I'm a bitch who likes to make characters suffer, I've gone and done this. Un-Beta'd so please forgive me if my spelling falls out the window and so on.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Two's Company

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! One-Shot for a little bit of Stony, no actual slash, could be OTP or BroTP, make your interpretation. So I've been wanting to do some PTSD stuff for Steve for a while now, and because I'm a bitch who likes to make characters suffer, I've gone and done this. Un-Beta'd so please forgive me if my spelling falls out the window and so on.

Steve was not used to waking up beside others. 

All army jokes aside, they slept in close quarters, of course, but never the same bed, or close enough to touch. In all honesty, he'd only ever been with a few women, and it wasn't exactly like a relationship would ever last long, not when you had the ever-attractive, charming James Barnes as your best friend. Not that Steve minded, of course. He was quite happy to keep himself to himself, and that included in sleep. 

 

Later on, the lack of privacy that came with working in the military rubbed out half of the desire to not be seen in any sort of vulnerable state, though it hadn't done much. Sure, he didn't mind being seen when he was asleep anymore, but close contact stayed a slight issue. It wasn't crippling, debilitating or anything like that, no. Steve simply felt great discomfort at the thought of being watched in his sleep, or the risk he was in through sharing a bed. 

 

Once he'd thawed out, and woken in a strange, almost alien world, Steve found himself growing ever so slightly more comfortable with the idea of others being present when he was asleep, more out of necessity than anything. After all, it wasn't exactly as if he had anything to hide when he slept, he wouldn't reveal anything. He was Captain America, strong, courageous.

 

See, what most people forget is to know courage is also to know fear. 

 

Of course Steve knew fear, he'd virtually died in the middle of a war. He knew what it felt like to wonder if you'd come out of this scrape alive, if your friends would, if anyone would. He knew the gut wrenching effects of watching those young, far too young, men pass before his eyes. He knew what actually went on in that war, but he told no one. He had no reason to, especially after living in modern New York for a few months. Only half a year passed and the flashbacks began to melt away. 

 

Not that anyone knew about the flashbacks, Steve may have worried less about privacy issues but he still kept himself to himself. 

 

Steve was fine, and he never woke up beside someone, whether it be by his own will or not. At least, that was the case until the Chitauri attacked. 

 

Something changed after that, he wasn't sure what, it was almost like someone had clicked a switch in his brain, where he'd pushed just about every memory of the last year of life in the 1940's, and the latch was opened, spilling out every sensation, every experience, be it good or bad. He found himself struggling with a number of new sounds and sights. Of course, Steve Rogers wasn't one to complain, he never let anyone know what was going on inside his head. For a few weeks this worked rather well, keeping him somewhat sane. However, the minute the sun went down another story came to play. In sleep Steve couldn't suppress himself, couldn't control what he saw or heard. The blank canvas of unconsciousness made it all far too easy for his head to fade into Germany, the snow biting at his face, blinding him and his comrades. The cries of the men he was leading, was responsible for, and failing them time and time again. 

 

He almost always woke up screaming. 

 

Almost every time it happened, however, he did not wake up alone. 

 

Some nights it was Natasha who discovered him. He'd bolt upright, sweating and panting as her icy, studious glare bore into him, searching for any signs of a full blown breakdown. She'd never say a word, the spider would simply watch for a few moments, look him over and then leave. Neither one of them would mention it the next day, or the day after, no matter how often it happened. On some nights, Clint would be the face Steve woke up to, concern etched upon it, murmuring soft, somewhat sarcastic words of encouragement to pull him back to the 21st century. He'd never mention the incidents when the sun rose again  either, he'd simply keep an eye on him, giving Steve a curt nod when he thought the others weren't looking, silently asking after him. Bruce was often there, his tone gentle, taking a far more medical once over of Steve in comparison to the others, but he was always far more thorough. He knew how to ease Steve's frayed nerves, and mentioned it later on, but only to briefly check up on him. Of course Bruce only mentioned this in private, giving the soldier some dignity. Thor was by far Steve's favourite, although he'd much prefer no one came in at all, he found the God to be the lesser of the evils. Apparently Thor had grown up with handling others' night terrors. Steve had asked who's once, and only received a bout of silence, so he never asked afterward. Whoever it was though must have been lucky to have the Thunderer around. He knew the exact distance to keep when Steve was still gaining his bearing, the way in which to talk to him, what to say. Thor never went closer than an arms length unless he was invited, more for Steve's pride than anything else. The next morning, when there was no one else around, Thor would take Steve aside, and explain the previous night's events, how Steve reacted, what he called out, and asked if a discussion was needed. Steve always declined, even though a few times he'd regretted it after. 

 

Tony was a completely different story. The man was an idiot, in Steve's view, but unfortunately, he was also next door, meaning more often than not, the moment Steve became distressed, Jarvis would notice, and of course notify Stark first of vital signs and so on. Again, Tony was an idiot. He constantly get too close, trying to coax Steve awake through touch as opposed to voice. Steve would be trapped in the European winter, running for his life when suddenly a Hydra soldier would be on him, holding him down. Of course, instinct would kick in and he'd manage to get the other flipped over. By the time the world came back into focus, Steve would have Tony pinned to the bed, his hands tied a little too tightly around the mechanic's throat. It would take Steve a moment to let go, as he worked to get rid of the screams in his ears and the hot tears threatening to appear. Even worse, Steve was always horrified every time this happened. He'd scramble away from Tony, ordering him out of the room with as much force as he could muster. The next morning, Tony would always have some snide comment, one that no one else would understand, and he'd give subtle hints in front of anyone and everyone. He supposed Tony thought he was helping, making the situation known, but Steve would feel his face burn beetroot as he suddenly found a quick excuse to leave. 

 

In short, Steve hated it when Tony found him. He was rude and conceited, and never learnt his lesson, earning him some excellent bruises running around his throat and abdomen, where Steve had pinned him to the bed.

 

Then something changed. It seemed Tony had come up with a new method, either that or he'd been talking to Thor. Steve would be asleep, tossing and turning his way through gunfire. He'd hear the screams grating against him, and then suddenly, they'd become muffled. Everything would. He'd be trapped in a new world, one of warmth and arms around him. There'd be a familiar scent, aftershave, and a voice he knew murmuring to him. He couldn't really work out what the voice was saying, but he felt safe when it appeared. He clutched to it subconsciously, feeling it pull him back. After a few moments, the horrors that plagued him would be pressed down again, curved under the latch where they could not hurt. Often he'd wake just in time to see a silhouette leave the room, a rather familiar silhouette. No one would mention anything the morning after, at least, not to him. 

 

This went on for a while. Even on some nights, it would take a much longer time for Steve to settle down again, depending on how the previous day had gone. When this happened, Tony would end up falling asleep next to him. The first time it happened Steve jumped a little bit, alarmed by the sleeping body next to him. He soon remembered why Tony was here, and settled against the bed again, after all, it was his bed, why should he get out?

 

So a system managed to appear over the months after the Avengers originally teamed up. Every time they fought off an army of Von Doom's Doombots, or when Loki made an appearance again, or even when a significant amount of fighting went on, the following evening was classed as a danger night, and Tony wouldn't even bother with his own bed. It was far easier to be there the moment Steve started to fall away. There were nights when Steve didn't have any night terrors, and he still woke up in the glow of the arc reactor. What worried him was that Steve found himself minding this less and less. He was okay with Tony keeping him company, especially on nights when they'd had an attack, they'd just stay up, talking about anything and everything that came to mind. Steve would talk about his old life, what he did who he was friends with, while Tony would explain a new piece of technology, something he'd need to know. Sometimes, if Tony asked, Steve would talk about Howard Stark, how they slowly became friends, and what kind of man Tony's father was. 

 

Steve's night terrors became far less common when Tony was there. They faded away soon enough, until he'd wake up after a night of rest, finding Tony still there. He'd have an arm draped somewhere on Steve, using the contact as an anchor, keeping Steve in the 21st century. 

 

Steve found, maybe he could grow used to waking up beside others, maybe even enjoy it. 


End file.
